


The (Mildly) Serious Incident of Arthur's Windowboxes

by aceofairships



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Arthur being Arthur, Douglas as a brand new pilot for MJN, GERT-I, Gen, MJN Air, MJNAir, Nevada, Reno - Freeform, Reno-Stead Airport, Set in America, airports should have swimming pools, army mentions, arthur wants to go swimming, bomb scare mention, douglas is annoyed, martin will not be in this, security officers - Freeform, windowboxes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 12:36:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7684792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceofairships/pseuds/aceofairships
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the first part of my fic for @sircarolyn, who requested someone write about the time Arthur tried to water the windowboxes on GERT-I</p>
            </blockquote>





	The (Mildly) Serious Incident of Arthur's Windowboxes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sircarolyn](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=sircarolyn).



> Yes, I shamelessly set this fanfic in the place I grew up and no, I won't apologize for it. I needed a desert, and I can write Nevada better than anywhere else. Also, it worked because of the two airports! Reno-Stead Airport is actually where they host The National Air Races in September, and it was apparently where pre-1965 astronauts did their training!
> 
> I hope you enjoy it.

Mid-August, 2002

The heat shimmered off the desert sand and the air burned with the dry smell of sagebrush and juniper. The sun beat down from a cloudless blue sky, heating the metal hangar that had limited air conditioning: even in the shade (though there was little enough of that to be had), the temperature was nearly unbearable. Reno-Stead Airport barely rated that designation: it was a tiny patch of sand with a run-away and a few renovated buildings that had once been some kind of army airfield.

For his first flight with MJNAir, this was certainly not what he’d expected. Not only had the trip been a dull delivery of English snackfoods and tea to a local ex-pat, there been a bomb scare at the main airport in Reno, causing them to divert to this tiny place fifteen miles away from proper civilisation- only desert and decrepit trailer parks lay between him and what had once been the divorce capital of the world and the lure of glittering casinos. And now, the small airport he’d been forced to land at was swarming with security and army personnel, who were currently looking over everything.

Furthermore, Captain Leonard Blake had disappeared into the crowd of buildings immediately upon arrival while the owner of the company had gone off to talk to Air Traffic Control to see when they might possibly be allowed to leave for their night in Oakland, California. 

And to top off this list of lovely things, his employer’s twenty-year-old son was prattling on like everything that had happened was some grand, fun adventure. “Isn’t the desert beautiful? Are we quite close to Area 51? That’s in Nevada isn’t it? MAYBE WE COULD GO TO LAS VEGAS! Viva Las Vegas!”

“Arthur, you aren’t even old enough to drink or gamble in the US, why would you want to go to Vegas?”

“Because it’s /Vegas/, Douglas, don’t you want to go?”

“No, I’ve been to Vegas, it’s nothing special, really, once you get past the bright lights and promise of vice.”

Arthur looked confused, but the moment passed. “Gosh, it looks hot out there!” The boy bounced on his feet happily. “We should go swimming!”

“And just where do you suggest we do that, Arthur?” Douglas drawled, tempering his annoyance with sarcasm.

“They might have a swimming pool?” Arthur asked, grinning as if it was obvious that the airport would have a swimming and that they would be allowed to use it.

“At an airport? Have you ever seen an airport with a swimming pool, Arthur?” Douglas asked, incredulous that a grown man could think that airports would just have swimming pools.

Arthur looked crestfallen for just a moment before brightening again. “Maybe they have a kiddie pool and a hose! That’s just as good, isn’t it?” He chirped, grinning. “The Americans must know how to swim.”

“Of course they know how to swim, Arthur- my point was that they don’t just have swimming pools in airports. Don’t you have something else to do than sit here?”

“Nope! All my chores are done until the client comes to pick up the delivery. GERT-I is hoovered, I cleaned the galley... Made you and Mum tea, made coffee for Lenard... no, I’m off!” Arthur grinned. 

“Can’t you buzz off, then?” Douglas sighed, wanting to attempt a nap before they had to leave the dismal airport.

Arthur didn’t get the message, and continued to hang out in the flight deck. “What?”

“Go and water the window boxes or something,” Douglas snapped. “I want to take a nap.”

Arthur nodded, exiting the flight deck in a determined manner. “Right-o! I’ll just... go do that, yeah.” 

Now, in the quietness left in Arthur’s absence, Douglas settled back in his seat and fell asleep.


End file.
